SACRAMENTO - A proposed Assembly Bill seeking to fix a deadline error in the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act took another step forward Tuesday after unanimous approval by the Senate Government and Finance Committee. Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, is hoping to push AB 21 to the governor's desk as soon as possible in order to strike a set March 1 deadline that was inadvertently included in the new medical marijuana regulations requiring cities and counties to adopt medical marijuana cultivation standards or allow the state to take local control. [continues 185 words]
Last week, Sean Parker made an honest issue out of cannabis legalization. The former Napster and Facebook whiz kid (and current philanthropic billionaire) plunked down $500,000 towards the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, a legalization measure vying for the Nov. 2016 ballot. The check was a long-awaited confirmation: It had been known as the "Parker Initiative," despite no material support from Parker until last week - and only tepid verbal approval. Along with $250,000 donations from a political action committee controlled by WeedMaps - the dispensary-finding website that serves as the "Google Maps for Pot" - and from legalization veterans Marijuana Policy Project and the Drug Policy Alliance, to whom much of the credit for legalizing in Washington, Colorado, and Oregon are due, Parker's half-million is the biggest donation to the campaign committee called "Californians to Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana While Protecting Children." [continues 765 words]
The Recent Rash of Medical Pot Bans Strikes the East Bay. Meanwhile, Full-Scale Legalization Gets Cleared for Signature-Gathering. Alameda County medical cannabis patients, they're coming for you. California's rash of medical pot bans continues to spread in 2016 and has now reached into the historic heartland of medical cannabis law reform. Patients in places like the East Bay's Castro Valley could face new threats for growing even one medical pot plant indoors if a new, fast-moving county effort succeeds. Alameda County's lawyers recommended on January 6 that the board of supervisors ban any medical cannabis cultivation or deliveries in unincorporated areas by January 24. [continues 636 words]
ALBANY - New York joined the ranks of nearly half the states on Thursday in allowing the use of medical marijuana with the opening of eight dispensaries statewide, serving a variety of tinctures, concentrates, vapors and other forms of the drug. How many patients actually received medicine from those dispensaries, however, was uncertain; several locations around the state had customers who entered, but it was not clear if any actually bought the drug, or were qualified to do so under the state's strict guidelines. On Thursday, officials at the state's Department of Health said that only 51 patients had been certified for the program thus far, though that process only began on Dec. 23 and requires the approval of a physician who has registered with the state. [continues 905 words]
The Loosening of Marijuana Laws in Much of the U.S. Increases Competition. BADIRAGUATO, Mexico - He started growing marijuana as a teenager and for four decades earned a modest living from his tiny plot tucked at the base of these rugged mountains of western Mexico. He proudly shows off his illegal plants, waist-high and fragrant, strategically hidden from view by rows of corn and nearly ready to be harvested. "I've always liked this business, producing marijuana," the 50-year-old farmer said wistfully. He had decided that this season's crop would be his last. [continues 1338 words]
So is this Facebook dude's new marijuana initiative gaining traction or what? - -Jah Q. Public It is picking up steam. However you feel about the initiative itself, it would seem that the people pushing it through are savvy operators. For those of you not up to speed, here is a quick recap: Sean Parker, Facebook billionaire, has decided to sponsor an initiative to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis sales in California. The Adult Use of Marijuana Act has been building alliances and picking up supporters (Gavin Newsom is a fan, as are a bunch of folks at Reform CA, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Marijuana Policy Project, The Drug Policy Alliance, Tim Blake from the Emerald Cup-I could go on but you get the drift). Parker has the money and he has the support of many of the big names, but I still have some misgivings. [continues 365 words]
The manifestation of the once-rogue marijuana industry's current commercial success and its untold future potential were on display last weekend at the Emerald Cup, the state's largest cannabis convocation. But while some of the state's 55,000 outdoor cannabis farmers were dressed for success in Carharts, hoodies, and flannel, the biggest name - subject of the biggest news - was a no-show. In between lining up for dabs of artisanal pressed hash made by Frenchy Cannoli and rushing the Cookies booth to pose for selfies with social media phenomenon Berner, more than 20,000 weedheads also heard two words, whispered like a mantra and uttered like a curse, over and over and over again: "Sean Parker." [continues 750 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite its opposition to making marijuana use legal, the Obama administration is urging the Supreme Court to reject a lawsuit from Nebraska and Oklahoma that seeks to declare Colorado's pot legalization unconstitutional. The Justice Department's top courtroom lawyer said in a brief filed Wednesday that the interstate dispute over a measure approved by Colorado voters in 2012 does not belong at the high court. Nebraska and Oklahoma filed their lawsuit directly with the Supreme Court in December 2014, arguing that Colorado's law allowing recreational-marijuana use by adults runs afoul of federal anti-drug laws. States can sue each other in the Supreme Court, a rare instance in which the justices are not hearing appeals of lowercourt rulings. [continues 114 words]
Supporters of more liberal marijuana laws on Thursday delivered dramatic pleas that a temporary District law that bans consumption of the drug in private clubs be allowed to expire. If the ban remains, the District would be punishing the poor, the sick, children and many others, the advocates said, because the law effectively eliminates any loopholes allowing for marijuana use outside a private home. That leaves those who rent, are visiting or who live in federally subsidized housing without a "safe" space in which to partake, marijuana activists said. [continues 566 words]
This column increased in size by 50 percent a few weeks ago, and yet there is still barely enough space for all the canna-news. Light one up and let's jump right in. PUFF, PUFF, PUBLISH-Portland made national news this week when our branch of the USPS put out a memo to area newspaper publishers. In it, they reminded our modern-day William Randolph Hearsts that it is still illegal "to place an ad in any publication with the purpose of seeking or offering illegally to receive, buy, or distribute a Schedule I controlled substance." It went on to say, "If an advertisement advocates the purchase of clinical marijuana through a Medical Marijuana Dispensary, it does not comply" with federal law. [continues 607 words]
Calling for Legalization Now Will Slow Reform Progress For marijuana reform advocates, 2014 and 2015 have been remarkable years. Two more states and the District of Columbia joined Colorado and Washington in legalizing recreational ("adult-use") marijuana. Congress passed legislation dealing with issues like Drug Enforcement Administration policies and veterans' access to state legal marijuana, among others. And candidates (from both parties) running for high-profile offices - governor, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, even president - are talking about marijuana policy, and not with War on Drugs rhetoric. [continues 732 words]
Cases Rose 76% Over 11-Year Study Blacks Accused Three Times More Than Whites While the trend in much of the United States is moving toward decriminalization or legalization of marijuana, Virginia is heading in the opposite direction: With sharply rising arrest totals for the possession of pot and a disproportionate number of black people arrested in the Commonwealth, according to a new study based on state data reported to the FBI. Although marijuana arrests dropped 6.5 percent nationwide between 2003 and 2014, possession arrests in Virginia increased by 76 percent during that period, according to research by the Drug Policy Alliance in New York. And arrests of black people in Virginia for marijuana increased by 106 percent from 2003 to 2013, accounting for 47 percent of the state's arrests even though Virginia's population is only 20 percent black. The statistics were compiled by Jon Gettman, a public policy professor at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., and follow his national marijuana arrest analysis for the American Civil Liberties Union in 2013. That study showed that nationwide, black people were 3.7 times more likely to be arrested than whites for marijuana and that 88 percent of the country's arrests were for marijuana possession. [continues 804 words]
Now's the time to get involved in the cannabis social movement Many social movements have been taking hold in our nation recently. For example, same-sex marriage has moved from social acceptance to being fully legal. Cannabis law reform is a hot topic in politics and the media, as well as more and more states jumping onboard. Times are good, and there is much fulfilling work to be done on these and other humanitarian fronts. However, I am making a public call to action, asking for your participation in these movements. It isn't hard, there are events happening all the time. [continues 408 words]
Nationwide, the Numbers Have Dropped. Some Critics Point to a Crackdown Spurred by Governor. As public acceptance of marijuana use grows in the United States, nationwide arrests for simple possession of pot have dropped in recent years. New Jersey is going in the opposite direction. Marijuana arrests in the state jumped 10 percent in 2012 and 2013, according to the latest New Jersey State Police Uniform Crime Reports. In fact, the 24,765 arrests made for possessing small amounts of marijuana in 2013 is the highest number in 20 years, and nearly double the amount in 1993, when the state's population was 12 percent less, based on state police statistics and an analysis by the ACLU of New Jersey. In the five years prior to 2013, arrests had hovered around 22,000. [continues 901 words]
There might be no better example of the malevolent power of money in politics than the marijuana pro-legalization movement. Funded by billionaires who get their way by spending so heavily they drown out other voices, it wields the sort of unfair influence Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was speaking of on "Face the Nation" when he said, "The power of money over the political process is horrendous." However, Sanders said that in September and now supports the legalization of marijuana, which means he's siding with one of the moneyed interests he excoriates. [continues 389 words]
Knight's gambit Last week, Colorado Springs' long-debated medical marijuana moratorium ordinance passed 6 to 3, with City Councilors Jill Gaebler, Bill Murray and Helen Collins opposing. With bitter resignation, the local medical marijuana industry accepted the inevitability of a six-month freeze on land permits for any new MMJ businesses - growing to dispensing, and everything in between. Though the industry's concerns resulted in the ordinance being amended to allow existing businesses to expand or appeal in case of hardship, it's still a mess. [continues 616 words]
THOSE SEEKING to participate in Oregon's recreational (AKA adult-use) cannabis industry are feverishly preparing license applications for January 4, 2016. Meanwhile, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) on October 22 released rules for those who wish to grow, process, and sell adult-use cannabis in 2016: 78 pages of government-crafted regulations, covering a wide range of details, and-surprise-very few people are happy. (Note: Barring a late start by Phish, I've never seen so many weed smokers so grumpy. Can't any of the world-class growers in this state create an "OLCC Kush" to deal with the effects of working with this agency?) [continues 406 words]
Denver's marijuana regulators are asking the City Council to expand rules that would bar any new players from entering the state's largest market. For two years, a city moratorium aimed at controlling industry growth has allowed only existing medical marijuana businesses to open recreational dispensaries, grow houses or edible manufacturers. That's set to expire Jan. 1, a prospect that has had eager entrepreneurs and investors lining up. But new proposals submitted Tuesday by Denver's marijuana policy office would extend the moratorium two more years. And a newly proposed moratorium would bar any new applications for medical marijuana business licenses during the same period. [continues 577 words]
Canada was recently ranked the freest country in the world, but newly installed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't about to let it rest on its maple leaves. He won the October national elections after proposing something no major American presidential nominee has ever dared to endorse: legalizing marijuana. His Liberal Party argued that because of the current ban, "proceeds from the illegal drug trade support organized crime and greater threats to public safety, like human trafficking and hard drugs." Its platform called for legalizing, regulating and taxing cannabis. [continues 637 words]
Why do some strains make me paranoid and anxiety-ridden and some strains don't? - -LFM Good question. The short answer: No one really knows. We do know that the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls anxiety and fear, contains cannabis receptors and produces its own set of endocannabinoids. That's right. You create your own form of cannabis just by being human. Anyway, it's generally the THC in cannabis that can make you feel self-conscious and weird. Try to avoid anything with a super-high THC content, and maybe look for a strain that has a good amount of CBD. CBD has been shown to help with anxiety. Or just don't use cannabis. I'm kidding. Smoke weed every day. Still kidding. Be yourself. [continues 377 words]
